How to Get Better Grades & Be More Successful in the Classroom

Manage your study time Prepare a term calendar (use your agenda): record assignments & tests, along w/ important school activities. If you have a test on Friday, don’t study late Thursday night. Study little by little on Monday. The next day review what you studied the previous night, and then study a little bit more information. Use note cards, and study on the move. Organize your material on note cards, and whenever you have free time, look at them and commit them to memory. Practice makes perfect!

Homework Take pride in your work! Don’t just do it to get it done, but do it so well that you are proud to show your teacher when they check. Utilize teachers/parents if you need help. Do work in waves. If you can’t sit for 1-2 hours at a time, do an hour of your work, take a break, then do the rest of your work. Don’t procrastinate (put off to the last minute). Matter of fact, if you have an assignment that is due on Thursday, try to turn it in early. Watch how impressed your teacher will be if you do this!

Organization Have a notebook, binder, or folder for each subject. In your notebooks, use dividers, that help organize your notes, tests, homework, graded work, handouts, and a miscellaneous tab. Buy a zipper pouch. In your zipper pouch stuff it with lots of pens, pencils, highlighters, paper clips, etc. Locker organization. If it looks messy, it probably is messy. Organizing this small space will help you get to class much faster, and make you able to find things quicker & easier.

Taking notes in class Take neat & easily understood notes. If it is messy, this will be hard for you to study. Underline/highlight definitions, and important info. Always highlight & differentiate important info, so that it is easier for you to look at.

Classroom Conduct Sit in the front of class, and be an active participant in your class. Make it your mission to learn something, and make the most of your time. If you are engaged and working hard to pay attention, it actually makes the time go by faster. Maintain eye contact with your teacher. If your not looking, then you are probably not listening. Be a leader in your class. If everyone else chooses to be off task, it doesn’t mean you should.

Miscellaneous information Learn how to type without looking at the keyboard. When you are in High School and especially college, you will have to write a lot of paper, and if you can’t type, you will be up all night working!! If you sit next to someone who is distracting you or others, ask the teacher to move you; they will probably commend you for your maturity. If you have messy handwriting, continuously try to write neater. Future employers might be turned off if your handwriting looks bad.

Last but not least…. When God made you, he made you to be excellent! He made you to do excellent things. The good Lord didn’t intend for you to be lazy, or for you to constantly make excuses. One of the worst things in life is wasting talent. Please don’t waste the talent that God gave you. Do your best now, and you will be thankful you did later….